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Wednesday
December 11, 2013
Bohemian Waxwing
Photographed in the City Float Harbor area...
Front Page Photograph By MIKE SMITH ©2013
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: HopeLine Project: Cell Phones for Domestic Violence Shelters - Ketchikan residents are asked not to throw away their old flip phones but instead donate them to be refurbished.
Ketchikan RadioShack Store Manager Bob Nedzwecky and A Detachment Commander Capt. Tony April are pictured with the HopeLine collection box at the RadioShack.
Alaska State Troopers and RadioShack have paired up in Ketchikan and are collecing old cell phones for donation to domestic violence shelters as part of a project called HopeLine.
There is a HopeLine collection box at the RadioShack in Ketchikan and the Alaska State Troopers Post in Ketchikan also has another collection box where phones can be donated. The collected phones will be shipped to a facility to be refurbished if possible and then the phones will be provided to shelters where needed. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013
Alaska: Health Care Costs: Report shows centrally-managed school district program would create large cost savings while benefitting employees - Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee met in Anchorage to review a report on how to best achieve health care savings for the State’s 53 school districts. The Committee commissioned the Hay Group to conduct a study of the group health programs currently managed by each school district with the purpose of estimating the cost and overall impact of consolidating Alaska’s public school employees under a state-managed group health insurance program.
“When four of the largest school districts come to us asking for relief, not more money, we can’t help but to respond,” said Senate Finance Co-Chair Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks). “Health care costs are eating everyone’s lunch. School districts came to us with what appeared to be an elegant solution. So we hired this group of professionals to analyze it before we go forward.”
The Hay Group consultants surveyed all 53 school districts and conducted interviews with the NEA-Alaska Health Plan Trust, the Department of Administration, the Alaska Association of School Boards, the Alaska Association of School Administrators as well as commercial health insurance companies.
The analysis showed the State’s school districts spend roughly $264 million on group health care programs annually covering almost 16,000 employees. That’s an average of more than 15-percent of school district funding that is spent on health care costs.
“Principals from around our State have indicated the single largest increase in their budgets is health care costs,” said Senator Anna Fairclough (R-East Anchorage/Eagle River). “This report is a first step in a journey to help our schools and provide health insurance to our school district employees.”
The Hay Group examined four options to reduce these costs and recommended an option which creates a centrally managed school district program with health plan options and cost sharing in which the State provides a menu of health plan options customized to best meet the needs of individual school districts. Under this option, a cost-sharing strategy would be implemented that would provide a savings of almost 7-percent for most school districts. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013
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Alaska: Alaska Arctic Policy Commission wraps up two days of work sessions and public testimony - The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) wrapped up two days of meetings, work sessions and public testimony in Anchorage at the Dena’ina Center yesterday. Members focused on policy recommendations and priorities for a preliminary report due to the Legislature on January 30th, 2014. The recommendations were made in areas such as energy, infrastructure, governance, science and research, fish and wildlife, oil spill response operations, national security and marine transportation.
The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) is made up of 26 Commissioners, including 10 Legislators and 16 experts from throughout the state. The Commission is co-chaired by Senator Lesil McGuire (R-Anchorage) and Representative Bob Herron (D-Bethel).
“This group has done a great job in a short amount of time,” said Senator McGuire. “Few things are as important for Alaska’s future as crafting a comprehensive Arctic Policy and influencing Federal Arctic policy.”
In order to gather information, data, and public input for the report, the AAPC has met five times over the past year. The meetings took place in communities all across Alaska including Juneau, Barrow, Unalaska, Fairbanks and Anchorage. During the meetings, commissioners prioritized strategic recommendations as well as discussing what the Legislature and the Parnell Administration can do to craft sensible policy for Alaska’s Arctic. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013
Columns - Commentary
 WILL DURST: The Top 10 Comedic News Stories of 2013 - Be still, your beating hearts. As we exultantly find ourselves in this festive place once again. The most wonderful time of the year. When squealing children race home from school to check and recheck their favorite news websites. Husbands and wives fight for possession of the living room tablet. Grandparents double up on their meds. Relax, everybody. It's finally here. Yes, you may consider the Top 10 Comedic News Stories of 2013 officially released.
Some years make it darn near impossible from which to strain a few meager laughs. As amusing as a broken crutch on the edge of a toxic waste dump. But enough about Detroit. Because in terms of funny comedy humor, this year was lush and fecund like a tropical rain forest. Horsemeat discovered to be a major component of IKEA's meatballs. And the teachable moment here could be not to look to Swedish furniture manufacturers for our nutritional needs.
It is pivotal to understand that the Top 10 Comedic News Stories of 2013 are in no way to be confused with the Top 10 Legitimate News Stories of 2013. No. No. No. They are as different as soy beans and lug nuts. Bluetooth and dental floss. Palm fronds and those weird, cone-shaped collars that dogs wear to keep from chewing their butts. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013 |
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 TOM PURCELL: A Christmas Toy Story -- Back to the Basics - Boy, do we need to get back to the basics in America — especially with our Christmas toys.
Consider: In the basement of any kid's home you'll find once-trendy, dust-collecting gadgets that are no longer played with.
So I was delighted to stumble across a Geekdad.com article by Jonathan Liu that ranked "The 5 Best Toys of All Time."
First up: the stick, a simple branch or hunk of wood you can find in your own backyard.
Though doing so is no longer acceptable today, when I was a kid I made several slingshots out of sticks that could fire a small rock a long way.
I also tried whittling a flute once with a Swiss Army knife, but that was before kids did jail time for getting caught with any kind of a blade.
Which brings us to Geekdad's second-best toy of all time: the box.
Boy, did we love a good box in the '70s. We used the box that a giant, new refrigerator came in to make a fort out back. It was a terrific structure -- until the first rain came along and our father made us drag it to the curb for garbage pickup.
One of the great ironies of modern times is that no matter what trendy toy you buy your kids, you'll soon find them playing with the box it came in.
Here's third-best toy: string.
Though Geekdad says kids can use string to hang things from doorknobs, make leashes for stuffed animals or play Cat's Cradle, I don't recall having any interest in such things.
Geekdad is right about tying a long piece of string to two empty cans, though. When the string had tension, one can would carry your voice to the other can several feet away.
So cool is this still, I'll bet today's average kids would set down their smartphones for hours while trying to perfect the can-string audio.
Which brings us to Geekdad's fourth-best choice: the cardboard tube.
The little tubes that hold toilet paper or paper towels were always great fun. We taped them together to create little horns, which we could toot out of -- they had the faint sound of a kazoo -- until our father couldn't take it anymore. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013
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 Burning of toxic smelling materials By Kathy Doyle -
My dear neighbors from accross NTG. (Approximatly mile 10.5), Again today I awoke with my heart pounding and lungs burning. You see that pile of whatever you felt the need to burn today, made bad smoke. Truely not intended to support a long healthy life. My home, which should be a safe smoke free zone, was flooded with your smoke and whatever was carried with it. This has caused me over 12 hours of stressful breathing. Over the years this has been an invasion of my family's home and well being. I can, have and will continue to survive wood smoke. I just see no need for my family and neighbors to have to try to cope with our homes being invaded with trash smoke or any toxic smoke just to save on a dump run. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013
Open Letter: The Emergency Leak on the Centennial Building Roof By Gary R. Croy - The council has been given erroneous information concerning the leaks on the Centennial Building roof. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013
RE: Ketchikan Museum By Alan R.McGillvray - I agree with 'Skip's' letter although, I would suggest that a replacement for the Museum's Director/Curator is necessary and has been ever since I got back to my home here in town. At my insistence he started to put more Ketchikan history up on display. Because when I arrived and for a couple of years after, I would go to my Mother's house (re: Museum) and look at the exhibits there that had nothing to do with our locality, or what we have done throughout our existence. E.g. fishing, logging, mining. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 11, 2013
Open Letter to Ketchikan City Council By George "Skip" Thompson - My Grandfather came to Ketchikan via The Yukon in 1919, and the family has been in boat work here ever since. My wife and I have been life members of The Tongass Historical Society since Mrs. McGillvray's tenure. To say l have been disappointed lately with the Museum operation would be an understatement. - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
Please remember WISH By Vivian Benson - During the holiday season of giving please remember Women In Safe Homes (WISH). WISH provides safe shelter and support services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and works to increase community safety and awareness on topics of violence against women and children. The good news is that each of us can make a difference! We can educate ourselves and learn to listen and respond helpfully to someone in an unsafe situation. We can donate time or money to support our community members during times of trauma and need. We can join WISH to make sure essential services remain available in Ketchikan and Southern Southeast Alaska. The statistics from the recent UAA Victimization survey emphasize the necessity of retaining these services in our community. - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
Sun on a Rain guage By Al Johnson - Visiting square one is not a bad thing at times to do. With the vote to cease the proposed rain gauge project for the reasons given places the question of a rain gauge replacement back to that square. This is a wonderful opportunity for the community of Ketchikan to demonstrate the ability to disagree and then come to a mutual solution reflecting a successful conclusion to the issue. - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
Giving away the farm By Rick Gustin -
House Bill 77 is a pretty disturbing piece of work. Is it a bill to streamline resource development permitting; or a stripping of Alaskan citizens of their state constitutional right of access to fish and wildlife and water resources along with public notification and comment on resource extraction? - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
RE: One-sided Report On Timber Transition By Karen Bradley -
Thanks to Eric Muench for his factual rebuttal to the farcical article published in October by the "Geos Institute" and Mater, Inc. We need to hear more of the "solid" science of the carbon sequestration regarding old growth forests, of which he writes. There is so much environmentally-skewed pseudo-science published, out to confuse the public who has no understanding of the metrics of carbon sequestration. - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
Accountability By Ed Plute -
This is one of the hundreds of things that are so wrong with the 2013/2014 budget. In a town this small, why are we even paying taxes?! With so much income from tourism, we are being dumped on! Now a loss of public trust, and a complete waste of tax payer's money. It's one thing to SAY something, it's another to DO something about it! Do you recognize truth when it's staring you in the face? You need to see it, instead of those who are hiding it. - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
SE Alaskan Father & Son... By Lois Morgan -
I am likely not the first person to write in support of the Wilcox families grand and laudable plans, but I doubt anyone else is more heartened than I by their wonderful goal. - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
SitNews By David Williams - Finally after all these years of reading SitNews I realized what kept me coming back and that is the magnificent photos your photographers have been shooting. The opening of SitNews is always with outstanding shots of the SouthEast that makes one wish to come to see it up close and real. That is NOT to disparage the content for that too is excellent. - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
Rain Bong By Duane Hill - "Art does not have to be esthetically pleasing" does not mean "Only something revolting can be art". - More...
Monday PM - December 09, 2013
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